Manitowoc rewards skills of Franklin County welding students

CHAMBERSBURG - First-year welding students at Franklin County Career and Technology Center received more than $500 in gear and gift cards courtesy of Manitowoc when the company tested their skills.

Manitowoc visited students in Elisa Ramsey's welding program on April 25, set up a competition and rewarded the best performers.

Manitowoc routinely invites co-op students to work in its production facility. The competition gave the manufacturer a chance to reach students earlier.

"We thought it would be neat to come to the welding classes, have a contest and give them an idea of what Manitowoc is all about for their future," said Sharon Bair, human resources representative for Manitowoc. "We're hoping they're potential employees for us. I'm not sure everyone in the community understands what Manitowoc is.

"They know what Grove is, but now that we've changed our name in the last couple of years, we're trying to get out there to help people understand that Manitowoc is, in fact, Grove in Shady Grove, Pennsylvania."

Bair said the company intends to return again in future semesters.

Jake Sensinger, manager of weld process engineering at Manitowoc, devised two competitions and served as final judge. The top five students from a morning competition advanced to a tougher afternoon session. The competition tested a student's ability to read blueprints and put together the final product.

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"I thought it was a wonderful opportunity for the students to get a feel for what it's like to fabricate a weld from the design in a print, read the prints and interpret how to put everything together," Ramsey said. "I think there was some life lessons learned in this project."

Sophomore Daulton Horst of Chambersburg took home first prize and earned up to about $250 in gear and gift certificates, Bair said. Horst was given a Speedglas welding helmet, leather weld jacket, gloves, welding pliers and a $100 Visa gift card.

"I think it was pretty good," said Horst. "It was experience for trying these different welds and learning more about blueprints."

Fannett-Metal's Dustin Misner, who picked up about $175 in prizes and Shippensburg's Colton Heck, who earned about $125 in prizes, finished in second and third place, respectively. Sophomores Tyler Smith and Aaron Lawyer, both of Chambersburg, were also in the top five.

"I feel that the students got more out of it than we even anticipated," said Ramsey. "I felt it was geared properly where it was challenging enough, but not overwhelming in regards to the concept they were given."

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Brian Hall can be reached at 262-4811 and bkhall@publicopinionnews.com, or follow him on Twitter @bkhallpo.

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